After living in the high mesa country at 7,800 feet for more than 18 years, a few things have become apparent.  One of those is that after a day of snowfall, when the storm front exits to the east, the skies will clear and the cold that is left behind is bone-chilling.  The low temperature this morning was -2, and Nature left incredible wallpaper on our windows.  As the sky turns from a flat grey, and the ice crystals pick up the first rays of the sun, magic happens.  A photographer just needs to be there to catch it, because it doesn't last long.

The feathers and assorted designs in the photograph below came from the greenhouse glass, which is totally vertical, leaving very different types of frost crystals than those that appear on the roof windows at 45 degrees.

frost fleece

The next two shots were made just after sunrise, under the roof windows, and the frost is catching those first hues of pink and peach.

frost feathers

frost designs

Gold is scattered all over the photograph below made from underneath one of the roof windows.  It could be a slab of granite or wallpaper.

frost gold

Winter solstice does not happen this year until Friday, December 21 at 3:23 p.m. For now, winter will continue to whet skiers' appetites until the main course arrives.

until next Monday,

DB

a passion for the image@